Heretofore, there have been known biodegradable fibers consisting of natural materials, such as rayon, cupra (cuprammonium rayon), chitin, chitosan, and collagen, and more recently, there have been known fibers produced from biodegradable polymers consisting of aliphatic polyesters such as poly-.epsilon.-caprolactone. Although by definition these biodegradable fibers decay when placed in the natural environment, it takes a long time until the form of fibers disappears completely. Therefore, they may create the same environmental problems as those created by fibers such as polyamides, polyesters, and polypropylene which are little decayed.
In order to solve such problems, it is necessary to degrade and decompose fibers more quickly.
As a known example of fibers containing starch, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 4-100913 discloses a biodegradable fiber consisting of a polyvinyl alcohol-based polymer and starch. However, this fiber is slightly biodegradable, and complete decomposition takes a long time.
It is an object of the present invention to solve such problems, and to provide a biodegradable, adhesive composite fiber, a non-woven fabric, a knitted fabric, a fiber composition, and the like.